The First Pretend: The Blackhills Asylum
by Hope Parker
Summary: Miss Parker and Jarod are on their first pretend together, working in a mental asylum. Jarod must help a patient before he does further damage to himself and to others.
1. Prologue

****

Disclaimer: As always, the Pretender doesn't belong to me.

****

Author's Note: This story takes place after my story _Helpless_. To understand why Parker and Jarod are together, you must read _Helpless _first.

The First Pretend:

The Blackhills's Asylum

__

Prologue

The Centre

Sunday, 4:46 p.m.

Mr. Lyle sat at his desk in his office. In his hands, he held a picture of his twin sister: Miss Parker, his father: Mr. Parker, and himself. He sighed and set the picture down, face up, on the desk. Miss Parker and Mr. Parker were both dead now and he was alone. Well, that was not true.

Technically, Mr. Raines, the man that now ran the Centre, was his real father. Even with that knowledge, he still felt alone. Raines didn't treat him as a son, which was something he wanted a father that really cared about him. _Dwelling on the past won't help you now._ He told himself.

Lyle stood and walked out of his office. He went to the elevator and pressed the down button. As he waited, he looked around. Other workers walked through the halls; talking in quiet conversational tones. The elevator doors opened with a ding and he stepped into the elevator and hit the close button.

When the elevator doors opened again, he stepped out of it and walked down the hall. He walked to an office and opened the door and went inside. From where he stood, he could hear the voices of the Centre's main techie and psychologist. They were talking about something irrelevant to their work at the Centre. He went up behind the men.

"Sydney, Broots." He said not bothering to greet them politely, "Has Jarod popped up somewhere yet."

"N-no, Mr. L-Lyle." Stammered Broots, "Not at all."

"That's very odd." Stated the man, "Jarod is a good doer. There's got to be a million people on this earth that need help."

"Perhaps he's in mourning still." Supplied Sydney, "He was close to Parker. When his brother was presumed dead, Jarod went into mourning for a while."

"Hmm." Lyle grunted, "Well, if anything shows up…"

"We'll let you know immediately." Syd filled in.

Without saying another word, the man left the office.

****

*

"I kind of feel sorry for the guy." Broots said as they watched Lyle leave.

"He's lost the only people he knew as family." Said Sydney.

They both turned back to Broots's computer. The techie turned the monitor back on. On the screen was an e-mail from Jarod and the very alive Miss Parker. They were both fine and Parker was now at full strength and like a brand new woman. A free woman was more like it. The couple were working on their first pretend together.

After they read through the e-mail, Broots deleted it off his computer completely. When he was done, he turned to Sydney.

"Do you think we could leave the Centre? I mean since Parker's gone, we don't have any real reason to stay." He said.

"There is _no _real way to leave the Centre. I mean, look at Jarod. He escaped but the Centre still hunts him. You will always be connected to the Centre no matter what." Answered Sydney after a minute of thought, "The _only _real way to leave this place is to die…to really die."

Broots sighed. "What a grim life we lead."


	2. Chapter One

****

For disclaimer and Author's note, see the Prologue. _Narcissus in Chains _belongs to Laurell K. Hamilton (I just loooovvvveee the book.)

__

Chapter One

The Blackhills Asylum

Tuesday, 11:25 a.m.

"Dr. Bennington. You're patient is waiting in your office for you." Said one of the nurses of the asylum as she approached the psychologist.

Jarod stopped the conversation he had been having with another nurse and looked at the other woman and gave her a smile.

"Thank you, Anita." He said.

The woman nodded and continued walking down the hall.

The Pretender turned back to the other nurse and gave her a grin.

"We'll finish this conversation later." He said.

"You better believe it." Answered Miss Parker smiling.

Chuckling, he gave her a wink and walked down the hall and went into his office. Inside, a man sat in a chair across from his desk.

"Hello." Jarod said as he closed the door behind him.

The man either ignored the greeting or didn't hear it, because he continued to stare straight ahead of him. The man also seemed to be talking to himself quietly. The Pretender sat down at his desk. The man didn't even blink. Jarod found the man's file on his desk.

Opening the folder, he scanned the information, absorbing it completely. The man's name was Donovan Blake and he was a paranoid schizophrenic. Donovan had a history of arrests. They were all assault cases. There was a note attached that warned Jarod that the man's other personality was extremely violent and to sedate him whenever that personality surfaced.

Closing the folder, the psychologist folded his hands on his desk and looked at the man.

"Hello, Donovan." Jarod said, "How are you today?"

The man blinked at him and seemed almost surprised to see him. "O-o-okay, I-I-I g-g-guess." He stammered.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"

Donovan nodded wordlessly.

"Good." Said Jarod, "Do you understand why you're here?"

"I-I-I have a problem?" the man phrased it as a question.

"No, not a problem. A disorder." Corrected the Pretender.

"Oh." **Yeah stupid. How could you not understand that? I'm beginning to wonder about you. **The voice in his head chided.

"Shut up, Micah." Donovan muttered to the voice.

The voice laughed at him. **Loser. Loser, loser, loser…LOSER. **

Donovan put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes tightly.

The laughter grew in volume. **You can't block me out! I'm in your HEAD!!!**

"Donovan?" Jarod said loudly, trying to get the man's attention.

The man removed his hands away from his ears and opened his eyes. "Yes?" he answered meekly.

"Are you all right?" asked the doctor.

"Yes, yes. I'm okay."

Jarod sighed. "Our session is over for today. I'll want you to come back the same time tomorrow."

Donovan left the office and looked at the clock that was on the wall. It was time for his medication. He walked down the hall to the medication/nurse station. When he reached the counter, the nurse stationed there looked up at him. _She's new. _He thought, _And beautiful._

She smiled politely at him.

"Name." She said.

"Donovan Blake."

The nurse stood and went to the tray full of medication cups. While she looked for his, Donovan continued to stare at her. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. She looked like an angel. She reminded him of someone, although, he couldn't place who she reminded him of.

What a hottie. I'd like a piece of that. The voice said with a devilish chuckle. 

__

You leave her alone! Donovan told him.

****

Oh, come on! Don't you want her? Don't you want to know what she's like? Taunted Micah.

__

Shut up, you disgusting evil thing. 

****

I'm a part of you, you stupid ass!

The nurse returned with his medicine cup. 

"Here you go." She said handing him the cup.

"Thank you, nurse…?"

"Parker." Said the woman with a smile.

With the cup held tightly in his hand, Donovan walked off to find the drinking fountain. **Hey! **The voice said as he put the pills into his mouth and was just about to take a drink. Ignoring the voice, the man took a drink and swallowed the medication. Micah screamed in pain. **You'll be sorry that you took that…**he vowed as his voice began to fade.

****

*

Jarod had remained in his office. After the man had left, the Pretender took out a red notebook out of his top drawer. Opening it, he scanned over the newspaper clipping he had put inside it.

****

MENTALLY ILL MAN ACCUSED OF MURDER. The headline read. 

There was a picture of Donovan in the corner. He was under suspicion of the murder and rape of a teen-age girl. He refused to give the police a statement and was extremely paranoid as they tried to question him. At one point, he attacked one of the officers. They finally had to sedate him to calm him down.

After that, until his trial, Donovan was ordered to stay at the asylum. Sighing, Jarod shut the notebook. He looked at his watch and saw that it was time for lunch. He got up and left his office. As he walked down the hall, he stopped at the medication/nurse station. 

Miss Parker was sitting at the desk. She was reading _Narcissus in Chains_, yet again. She had become obsessed with that book. He walked around the desk and stood behind her, peering over her shoulder.

"That must be some book." He whispered into her ear.

"Ah!" she cried with a slight jump.

He chuckled and backed away as Parker hit him with the hardcover book. 

"Wanna go get something to eat in the cafeteria?" he asked.

"Sure." She got up and went towards the back of the station and talked to one of the other nurses. 

She returned a second later and walked beside him as they made their way into the cafeteria. They got a tray and got in line. 

"Ewww." Parker said as she looked at, what supposedly passed as food.

Jarod got something that looked like spaghetti. "Come on, Parker. Get something." 

"I think I'll pass." She replied scrunching her nose.

He laughed and went to pay for his food. Sighing, Parker grabbed a salad and some low-fat dressing and followed after Jarod.

10:54 p.m.

Micah looked up at the ceiling of his room. _This blows. I got to get of this room. _He thought. Getting off his bed, he walked to the door, opened it, and went out. The hallways were basically empty. 

He walked towards the nurse station. The hot nurse, Parker, was still there. _Just my lucky night. _He thought. The woman was reading a book and didn't even notice he was standing there.

"Hello." He said.

"Oh, hello." She said, putting down the book.

"One of the other patients is have a problem. He really needs help."

"Where is he at?"

"In the common room."

Parker got up and walked to the common room. There was no one there. 

"There's no one here." She said beginning to turn to face Micah.

Before she could turn, Micah pushed down to the floor and got on top of her. She struggled against him but couldn't get him off. He pinned her wrist to the floor above her head with one hand, while his other hand began to undo his pants. Parker began to scream for help. Micah punched her twice in the face, then began to remove her pants and panties. 

The woman continued to scream for help. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jarod came and knocked Micah off her. The Pretender then held the man to the ground as Parker put her pants back up and the other nurses arrived.

"Oh, my god!" Anita cried, "What the hell happened here?!"

"Donovan tried to rape me." Parker said her voice shaky.

"I'm not Donovan." Replied the man from where he was being held down.

"Then who the hell are you?" demanded Jarod.

"My name is Micah." Answered the man.

"Get something to sedate him with and do it quickly!" Jarod said.

Anita hurried off to get the sedation. Jarod looked at her.

"Are you all right?"

All she could do was stare at him. 


	3. **Question**

Hey Everyone,

For everyone that has read _Helpless_, you know it leaves off with Jarod telling Parker they were going on their first pretend. I have started writing their first pretend and no one seems to be reading it, so now, it's time for a poll: 

****

What do you think Jarod and Parker's First Pretend Should Be?

So write what you think their first pretend should be and I'll take the best suggestion. So, Please help me out.

P.S: Should I take: The First Pretend: The Blackhills Asylum off fanfiction.net?


	4. Chapter Two

****

For disclaimer, see the prologue. Also, I'm not an expert on the subject of mental illness, so if this doesn't make much sense, please forgive me. But isn't a fanfic what you make it? And if this offenses anyone, I'll take it off. Feed back is well liked, so is good criticism but if you are gonna flame me, don't do it, it's very immature and unwelcome. 

__

A special note: I'd like to thank all of the people that reviewed my story and didn't want me to take it off. It means so much to me; more then you'll ever know. I'm glad you like this story and I'll try to keep up the good work. Please read and review.

And to Sara Pezzini Woo: Tomato Soup Cake Mix… LMPAO!

Anywho, on with the story… 

__

Chapter Two

The Nightfall Hotel

11:41 p.m.

It took them a while to get Donovan/Micah calmed down enough to sedate him and put him in a straight jacket. Jarod then locked him in his room. The Pretender and Parker had gone to their hotel room. The man held his lover tightly in his arms as she cried softly; her face buried in the front of his shirt. When her tears ceased, she let out a shuddering breath.

"Do you feel any better?" Jarod asked.

"A little. I'd feel a little more better if you kissed me." Answered Parker.

He did, as she wanted, knowing he could never deny her. After they broke apart, they shifted their position so they were spooning, with Jarod taking the dominant position, his back facing the room. Parker closed her eyes and tried to forget what had happened. But unfortunately, forgetting was not an easy thing. Sighing softly, she began to concentrate on the comfort of Jarod's touch.

"Michealina?" he said a minute later.

"Hmm?"

"If you don't want to go to work tomorrow, I'll understand."

"No. I'll go. I'll be okay. I'm strong. I'm a Parker, remember?"

"How could I forget? You were the one that hunted me for five years." He chuckled softly.

"I'm glad I finally came to my senses." 

"I'm glad you did, too." He moved her hair away from the back of her neck and placed a soft kiss on her skin, "I love you."

"I love you too." She answered.

They drifted off to sleep. Parker dreamed of Jarod and her being passionate, which then turned into a nightmare about being raped by Micah/Donovan. 

3:18 a.m.

Parker awoke with familiar pains in her stomach. Her ulcer was acting up again. She whimpered softly and tried to get out of Jarod's arms, but found that she couldn't. She rolled over and shook him. He immediately awoke and saw the pain in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My stomach…it's my ulcer." She managed to hiss out. 

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

She shook her head. "Do you have any pain pills or peptobizmal?" 

"Umm…I'll check." 

He got out of bed and found his doctor bag. Rummaging through it, he found a bottle of the pink liquid and some pain pills. He went to her side of the bed. 

"Pepto or pain pills?"

"Pepto." She took the bottle, opened it, and began to drink.

Jarod put the pills on the end table beside the bed and got back into bed. He sat and leaned against the headboard. Parker, the bottle in her hand, laid her head on his thigh. He moved the hair away from her face and began to stroke her cheek. The woman took another swig of the pink liquid. 

3:49 a.m.

Parker had polished off the bottle and had drifted off to sleep. Jarod remained awake, looking down at the woman he loved. He had never known anyone stronger. The man moved his position, so he was lying down and Parker's head was on his chest. The Pretender drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.

The Blackhills Asylum

10:13 a.m. 

Parker had gone into work, not wanting to be alone all day. They had stopped at a drugstore and picked up another bottle of peptobizmal. She sat at the desk, still reading _Narcissus in Chains, _the bottle on the desk in front of her. Sighing softly, she marked the page in the book, and stood. She walked to the back and found Anita sitting in one of the desks, watching TV. 

"Anita, will you watch the desk while I go get something to drink?" Parker said.

The woman smiled kindly. "Sure."

"Thanks."

Parker went to the cafeteria and got herself a bottle of water. On the way back to the desk, she stopped at Jarod's office. He was sitting at his desk, reading some paperwork, his brows furrowed in concentration. He looked up at her when he heard her close the door. Jarod smiled at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked getting up.

"Okay. I just need to get up, stretch my legs, get some water." 

Jarod got up and went to her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

"If you begin to feel worse, come see me immediately." He told her.

She nodded and turned toward the door. Flashing a smile at Jarod, she left and returned to the desk. The time flew by and it was time for the patients to take their medication. Anita was going to take Donovan/Micah his medicine. Parker found the medicine cup and noticed that the dose had increased. 

__

That's weird. She though, _I'll have to talk to Jarod. _ After she handed Anita the medicine cup, she left the desk and went to Jarod's office. He was working on his Haliburton and eating Pez candy. 

"Did you increase Donovan's medicine?" she asked him.

Jarod stopped typing and looked at her. Confusion crossed his face. "No. Why?'

"His does has been increased." She answered.

"What?!" Jarod's voice was mildly alarmed.

TBC…As always, feedback is well liked.


End file.
